Mr. Fintan Butler:

These are non-statutory schemes so there is no built-in statutory mechanism for either appealing a decision or going to the courts or anywhere else. There is a mechanism under the Equal Status Act for going to the Equality Tribunal but, as the Ombudsman said, the window for doing so is quite small. In any event, people have a right to go to the High Court seeking a judicial review, but for the people we are talking about, who are unlikely to be very well off, the prospect of going to the High Court for a judicial review it is not realistic given the timescale and cost involved. There are really not very many avenues for seeking redress in the circumstances.